Female Winemakers: Second In A Series Featuring Oregon

Katie Kelly Bell
, ContributorI cover the best in wine, spirits, hotels and travel.Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

Rebecca with the wines

Oregon it seems has a density of female winemakers. Based on purely anecdotal evidence, at last count I had Veronique Drouhin (Domaine Drouhin), Maggie Harrison (Antica Terra), Kim Kramer (Kramer Vineyards), Rebecca Pittock-Shouldis (Ghost Hill), Melissa Burr (Stoller Family Estate) and Lynn Penner-Ash (Penner-Ash). Maggie Harrison found the Oregon terroir, specifically the rocks, so compelling she made a split-second decision to move her family north and make wine there. Veronique Drouhin followed the visionary footsteps of her father straight to the Dundee Hills. And, since my last installment on this topic I've received several emails from other female winemakers in Oregon---including (but not limited to): Luisa Ponzi (Ponzi Vineyards), Anna Matzinger, Winemaker/Owner, Matzinger-Davies (previously at Archery Summit), Cheryl Francis (Winemaker, Owner, Founder; A to Z, Francis Tannahill and Rex Hill), Wynne Peterson Nedry, (Winemaker, Chehalem), Remy Drabkin (Winemaker, Owner, Founder; Remy Wines).

In 2005 Rebecca Pittock-Shouldis of Ghost Hill Cellarschose to leave a full-time career in aviation as an Oregon Air National Guard maintenance technician on the F-15 Fighter Aircraft to pursue her passion for wine. The winery is named for traveling miner who, as legend has it, wanders the top of ‘Ghost Hill’ looking for his stolen gold. Located in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. The wines are produced entirely from sustainable farmed estate fruit and many of the grapes are also sold to other notable wineries.

What is it about wine that makes you happy?

Wine has been a big part of my life since I was an exchange student in France in High School. I learned during that year that wine often acts as a catalyst to bring people together and create the special moments that are the foundations for our lives. Making wine makes me happy because now I get to be a part of making all that happen from the very beginning.

Why were you drawn to make wine?

Ironically, I sort of got pulled into winemaking out of necessity because I started a business that needed to be licensed as a winery… so I had to make some wine.

Why is Pinot Noir better to work with than say, Cabernet Sauvignon?

Well… I’ve never worked with Cabernet Sauvignon so I’m not sure. I love working with Pinot because it can be very challenging. Pinot is easy to over-work and overwhelm. I like the challenge of trying to use a light touch so that the vineyard and the place shine through instead of me or my actions.

What other grapes are you finding good results from in Oregon?

I also make a very small quantity of Syrah and Viognier for the Trappist Abbey of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Trappist Abbey Wines). The fruit from both is from Oregon. The shocker (for many people) is that the Syrah fruit that I have always used comes from the Dukes Family Vineyard just outside of Amity in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA. This is true cool climate, low alcohol, bright acidity Syrah and I am just in love with it. It doesn’t happen every year… but in the years that the fruit gets ripe (and I don’t just mean sweet) it is truly stunning. There will soon be a very small amount of the 2009 vintage available online at www.northwestwinestoyou.com and I am excited to see what other people think of it. In 2011 I also made Viognier with fruit purchased from the Applegate Valley in southern Oregon and it is quite lovely as well. Fully dry and with a nice level of acidity it is an excellent food wine that is a lot of fun for me to share. My daughter helped me press this off and it was a very special time together for us so this wine holds a special place in my heart as well.

Which wine in your portfolio is the most unique (in terms of style) and why?

The Pinot Noir Blanc – It is a dry white wine (not pink) made from 100% red Pinot Noir grapes. It is whole cluster pressed, fermented in 100% stainless steel tank and aged on its lees for about 6 months before bottling. It is a lovely fresh white wine loaded with tropical fruit and tree fruit aromatics, it has a bright acidity and round mouth feel from the lees aging. It is phenomenal paired with seafood and excellent as a refreshing glass on a warm summer day.

If you weren’t making wine for a living what would you want to do instead?

I wish I could just make wine for a living! As my “day” job I am the operations manager for Northwest Wines to You, a direct-to-consumer sales and fulfillment service for small wineries as well as a member of the Oregon Air National Guard (nearly 13 years now) as an Aviation Maintenance Technician on the F-15 Fighter Aircraft. Plus, I’m a mom of 2 great teenagers. I love all of my “jobs” but do hope that someday I can just make wine and travel.

Ghost Hill Pinot Noir Blanc, 2011, Imagine a wine that has the framework for a sparkling wine without the bubbles…this is a curious and fascinating white to drink. Apple, pear and a zippy acidity. Made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes, just as if it were to be a brut sparkling wine.